At Least We Are Safe

We were laughing, listening to music and enjoying a late night car ride. It was a relief to finally get out and be away from school for the five days on our Thanksgiving break. On top of that I was with my best friend, who I love extremely. I know my friend would do anything for me, so I would do the same for her. This led me to make the decision, that night, to take a short trip up to Madison to pick up her brother with her from the bus. He was returning from college up in Northern Wisconsin and I felt it was only fitting to meet up with him again since I hadn’t seen him in a while, and accompany my best friend since it can be scary to drive on your own at night. As we approached downtown, traffic seemed somewhat busy, which was normal. We thought nothing of it as we typed in the address on google maps of the location we were trying to pick up my friend’s brother. As we were looking at the screen located front and center in my friend’s car, we were a little confused about where to turn left since there were so many one-way streets. We decided to call my friend’s dad instead of following a screen, so my friend could stay more attentive while driving. He told us the exact street to turn on so my friend quickly switched lanes in hopes to turn left as soon as possible. But as soon as the light turned green it happened. Another vehicle had smashed into the left side of the vehicle my friend was driving.

Later, when police were called, and multiple authorities and tow trucks had arrived, my friend’s brother had walked to the street we were on since we were close to his bus stop. He saw the wreckage and the state my friend’s car was in and immediately hugged my best friend. My friend began to cry and whisper how it might have been her fault. His response was “At least you two are safe.”

Not even five minutes later, my friend’s parents had shown up since my friend’s vehicle was in a state where it was undrivable and the whole front end was wrecked. My friend’s parents rushed to the both of us and hugged us as they assessed how we looked. Both of us were upset and sort of flustered from the accident that just occurred but we remained uninjured. This was a relief to my friend’s mom since she kept repeating “I was so worried about both of you.”

My friend’s dad also followed up with, “I am glad you two are safe.”

Even with the amount of damage done to the front bumper of my friend’s car, we remained safe, but this kind of accident really put things into perspective for the both of us. We have both had our licenses since we were sixteen years old (about two years now) and have been building up our skills in driving, which makes us more confident to take on more crowded areas as well as highways. But even with said confidence, we do not just get a ‘free pass’ from unsafe drivers, intersections and even construction. These things may seem like excuses to some, but some drivers really don’t keep track of others around them or their own safety on the road. My biggest regret is not realizing sooner what I could have done in the situation to prevent it, or finding alternative ways to route my friend in the right direction. We are all human and make mistakes, but really awareness and safety should come first even when you believe you are experienced enough to handle any type of driving.

Driving, even in a safe manner, can sometimes be misleading when you are overwhelmed or in a traffic situation where it is hard to access what to do. It is these little decisions we make while driving that impact us. It seems we always have to expect the unexpected. I’m sure many drivers have seen and heard about fatal accidents here and there to supposedly ‘scare’ them, but it seems that young drivers really can’t take these sorts of accidents seriously until it happens to them or a loved one. My message I want to advocate for is the small, split-second decisions that can add up and matter more than you think in the instance of an accident. Always remain attentive, and even when you are having fun, don’t distract the driver and be aware of your surroundings even if you are not the one driving.